Coffee Prince
by Soliloquiz
Summary: "He was my cream, and I was his coffee-And when you poured us together, it was something."Summary inside!xoxo
1. The Fist Cup

**A/N: Hey! We are back with our new story! So fast aye? For those of you who know us from our first story HOUSE RULES. The reason this first chapter is up so fast is thanks to your reviews! it made us want to give something to you guys! You were amazing with our first story and we hope you will like this as much as you liked House Rules.**

**For those of you who don't know us, we are Soliloquiz. Two girls writing on one account! haha we have one story out and finished already called HOUSE RULES go and check it out...and of course, enjoy this one!**

**Disclaimer: We do not own any of this here...**

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The life of Gabriella Montez is not easy; she works many jobs to pay off debts and even gave up her feminine image. Troy Bolton is the heir of a big food company, but his grandmother wants him to settle down, so she arranged many dates for him. After Gabriella bumped into Troy and was mistaken for a boy, Troy decided to hire Gabriella to be his gay lover in order to avoid the arranged dates. Desperately in need of money, Gabriella had no choice but to accept. Troy's grandmother also made Troy in charge of a filthy coffee shop in danger of being bankrupt. Gabriella begs to work at the coffee shop, and not long after, feelings start to spark, except, how would Troy accept his "homosexuality"?**  


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The story's pretty simple: Gabriella Montez is a hard-working young woman who looks (and acts) like a boy — so much so that people even question her when she insists she's female. She works multiple jobs, delivering pizza and milk, and teaching karate. She's used to being mistaken for a boy, but doesn't really seem to care. She's also got a huge appetite.**

**Troy Bolton is a rich, conceited ladies' man who's got women throwing themselves at him left and right. His mother and grandmother are after him to marry and stop playing around with his life, although they too aren't immune to his charm when he deflects with sweet words. His grandmother is the head of a large company and he's been living off her money, and agrees to go on a matchmaking date to appease her. (Troy's a playboy, but has a soft spot for Sharpay, who used to date his older cousin, Ryan (as with House Rules, remember that in this story, Sharpay and Ryan are not related!)**

**And that rounds out our main love rectangle.**

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**The First Cup**

The heat was almost unbearable in the huge helmet that she had to wear. She could feel the small droplet fall down from the top of her forehead, tracing the curves of her face all the way down where they were finally trapped by the inside padding of the big thing she had on her head. The sound of cars and other motorbikes beside her and the own purring and vibrating of the machine she was currently sitting on were the only things she could hear. She only had one thing on her mind…well, at that moment because really she had a lot on her mind, so many things that sometimes she could not even sleep at night…but anyway.

Her eyes were glued on the traffic lights. The red light was there too long if you asked her. The pneumatics of her motorbike were dangerously touching the white line on the road and it was inching forward like a puma that is waiting to launch at its prey. The only thing she was waiting for was the green for her to go. From the corner of her eyes she could see the KFC boy on his red bike also focused and on the other side it was that Asian boy delivering noodles and next to him was the rival Pizza guy. All focused on the traffic light. Gabriella squeezed the handles tighter and her eyes screamed determination…any minute now…

Suddenly, the long awaited green light appeared and all four bikes jumped out of the restricted white line like horses on a race. It was always like this. A silent agreement between all the delivery guys that once they met at the traffic lights, there was a race. Nobody cared that there was no prize…actually, scratch that. There was a prize, the winner could sneer at the losers and that's all they needed.

The KFC guy went past her, honking as if to say "eat my dust loser!" but Gabriella just smirked, she loved a little challenge and this was one. It was one of her highlights of the day. When she would go on the delivery and meet other guys that did the same. They didn't really know each other. After all, all of their faces were covered with those huge helmets but they didn't seem to care. A race was a race!

Changing the gear, she sped up and slowly crept up behind the stupid red bike. The others were very near too so she didn't have much time. Gradually she went past the poor KFC guy that thought he was going to win this round.

"Not on my watch sweetie." Gabriella mumbled and sped up even more. Her bike groaned underneath her. It wasn't really fair to call it a motorbike. It was old, but then again all the delivery people had bikes like her. Still, it wasn't made for really fast speed. But that's all you really needed here in L.A. Delivering in the city was faster and you could easily dodge the traffic jams.

She was getting nearer to another traffic light. It was green but she knew it was about to switch to red. Speeding up more, she silently prayed for her bike not to fall apart. As she crossed the white line, the light changed to red, forcing the others to stay behind.

"See you later boys!" she yelled out and laughed. Another win for Gabriella Montez. Now she just had to find the street that she was supposed to deliver the pizza to. Recalling in her head, she realized it was one of those famous spa parlors in L.A. There was spa and manicures and it was strictly a women place. No man has ever even set a foot in it. There was no rule about it but it was just another unspoken law, no man was to enter those hallowed halls.

Stopping the bike, Gabriella got off and went to the back to get the boxes out. She didn't bother to take off her helmet because she was going to leave within a minute anyway. She just needed to deliver, get the money and get out.

Not caring, she went straight into the spa and when she saw no one in the entrance, she decided it would be wise to go to the changing rooms, maybe there would be someone who ordered the pizza.

Walking straight in without knocking, she went into the center where there was a small table.

"Ok ladies, which one of you ordered a Pepperoni with Cheese, Hawaiian and BBQ Chicken?" She yelled out in a loud voice which came out quite low since the helmet muffled the sound, while putting the pizzas out on the table.

"Hey! Who are you? What are you doing here?" A woman in the bath towel shrieked out. Gabriella finally looked up, realizing that all the women there were in a towel or some only in their underwear.

As soon as the other ladies in the changing rooms realized what the woman yelled out, chaos started.

"How come you could come in?"

"Get out of here!"

"Go out quickly!"

"How can there be such thing? Leave!"

"This is really too much! Aren't you ashamed? Get out!"

The yelling was coming from every part of the changing rooms. Gabriella just stood there in shock. Why were they yelling at her? However, she quickly had to duck when the first stiletto came flying towards her. Then she started covering herself when other items started to be thrown at her. Towels, shoes, hair brushes…

"Are you deaf? I told you to get out!"

She had no idea what started this. Did they not like pizza? She was sure it was the right place so what was the matter? She felt someone pushing her and her instincts screamed at her to run, so she did.

"How can there be such a guy?" a blonde woman that pushed Gabriella yelled out, earning many agreements from the other ladies present.

Gabriella was about to go out to her motorbike when she realized she had left the pizza there. Sighing, she marched right back inside the changing room.

"Hey! Didn't you order this pizza? Who is going to pay now?" she yelled out with anger. She hated women like these! Spending all the money and valuable time in these places just to be more beautiful! It was a waste of money if you asked her. Instead of an answer she was looking for, more yelling and towels were directed towards her. Frustrated, Gabriella took off her helmet.

"I am a girl!" she yelled out, her cheeks flushed with anger, but also the fact that it was boiling hot outside and she had to wear the stupid restaurant vest on her. Yes, her uniform was an oversized t-shirt, long jeans, converse shoes and the bright yellow restaurant vest that matched her motorbike. Overall, this was what all the other guys wore and that was the problem. Not only did her clothes hide all her curves, but also her short hair looked like any other guys' haircut. A moment of silence passed after Gabriella yelled out her sex.

"What are you saying?"

"Don't lie! You think we are that stupid?"

"Get out of here immediately!"

Apparently they didn't believe her. Gabriella grabbed her hair in frustration. It was so messy! Her helmet messed up her hair completely and it was standing out and pointing in every direction. Not that she cared really.

"Stop the yelling! You are so noisy!" Gabriella yelled out as loud as she could earning another stiletto to fly by right next to her head.

This was going to be a long day.

* * *

"Raise."

"Then me too."

"It's three pieces."

"What?"

"Take another card." the male voice silently chuckled. Voices and sounds overall always sounded strange in the plane. Especially if it was a night flight and everyone else was sleeping. Troy always liked the night flights. They were quiet and calm and overall way better than day flights.

"Another one? But I have so many already." The red headed girl next to him pouted. With his luck, he was seated next to a young and very beautiful girl who claimed to be a model. Well, as far as he noticed, she did have the body for it.

Troy, being the ladies man he is, immediately striked out a conversation with her. Of course he was interested in her but really, she was boring and dumb. Of course, this was a hell of a long flight seeing as he was coming back from his parties in Spain. She was there to entertain him during the flight. They have already entered the Mile High club together. Not that Troy wasn't a member already but…you get the point.

Now, they were playing a card game together to pass the time while everyone was sleeping.

"That's the game baby." Troy winked at her, immediately noticing the red that rushed to her cheeks. Yes, he had that kind of effect on the ladies.

"Hearts." She mumbled.

"Don't do this to me."

"That's the game baby." She repeated his words and giggled.

"Well, in that case, I am ending this game." Troy said with a smile and put his last card on the table.

"Aww, that's not fair. You are too good!" the red head, Stacy or Tracy or something like that said.

"That is true." Troy chuckled and adjusted his seatbelt.

"Maybe we can play again when we get to L.A." the woman beside him said and suggestively put her hand on his thigh.

"In L.A.?" Troy asked and she nodded, looking at him.

"There is no need for us to meet again, right?" he announced coldly.

"What?" she shrieked out, earning annoyed sounds from the other passengers.

"Now if you will excuse me, I would like to get some sleep." Troy said and put the sleeping mask on.

* * *

"_It's me."_

"Yes?"

_"Where are you right now?"_

"I am home."

_"Why didn't you come and visit me already? Don't you want to see me?"_

"Of course I want to see you. You know you are most important woman in my life!" Troy chuckled and stepped out of the shower while wrapping a towel around his body. Yes, technology these days allows us to speak on the phone that is installed into the wall while taking showers.

_"Then when are you going to come?"_

"I can't meet you looking like this. I am all jet lagged and dirty."

_"Just listen to your playboy speech! You even use it on your mother!"_ came out of the speakers. _"I really miss my son you know! I think I am going to go crazy soon!" _Troy didn't answer and sat down on the leather sofa to dry off while checking the score of the Lakers game.

_"Anyway, your grandmother is yelling at me right now saying that you never call her. She is really angry you know."_

"Yes mom, but how can I visit you now if I have a really important appointment soon?" Troy explained to his mother. He loved her to death but since his grandmother moved into their house because she claimed she could not take care of herself anymore and the 20 maids and butlers she had weren't enough. She and his mother, Lucille, constantly annoyed him with visits and phone calls. The conversation was always the same. His grandmother would pester him about his playboy style of living while his mother would tell him how he could catch some disease from all those women he sleeps with. Then they would both agree on the fact that he needed to get serious and arrange for him to go on a date with this business man's daughter or another.

_"So…"_ his mom wanted to continue but a knock on the door distracted Troy.

"Mom, I have to go. Bye." Without waiting for an answer he ended the call.

"Come in!" he yelled out too lazy to get up and open the door. Hearing the door open, he didn't bother to look up and continued to dry himself.

"Your pizza is here sir." Gabriella came in after she heard the loud invitation. Putting the box on the table, Gabriella started taking out all the things that came with the pizza order. After everything was laid out on the table, she looked up to ask the guy to pay up when the sight in front of her caught her off guard.

The man in front of her had the most amazing body she has ever seen and there were still droplets of water on him and more falling down from his wet hair. Suddenly he put one leg up on the coffee table forcing Gabriella to subconsciously realize that he had nothing on but the towel. But even this loosely draped towel didn't cover his manhood and Gabriella had the perfect view of it. Not knowing what to do, she stood there frozen. Her mind screamed at her to look away but her eyes couldn't seem to move.

"What?" the man asked when he looked up, revealing shockingly blue eyes that were very clear even though Gabriella was standing quite far away from him.

"N-nothing," Gabriella looked down and shook her head. Her face was red and she only hoped that he didn't see it.

"The money is on the table." He said and she just nodded without looking up. Taking the money, she ran out of the apartment as fast as she could. Closing the door behind her, she leaned against them and breathed out loudly.

"Why is everyone nude today? All nude…" she mumbled and closed her eyes.

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**A/N: That's it for now, we know it's not much but hold on ok? It's going to get better! REVIEW PLEASE! xoxo**


	2. The Second Cup

**A/N: Hey! We are back...faster than we planned, but your reviews made us so happy that we decided to post another one right away! :)**

**This chapter is a little bit long...one scene in particular was longer than we expected but it was so much fun writing it! :D so we didnt get to squeeze in as much as we thought we would and we didnt want it to be SUPER long. :P **

**So sorry that there is no Troyella encounter here but trust us, there is going to be quite a lot in the next chapter! We swear!**

**Disclaimer: None of this, not even Troy Bolton :( belongs to us! **

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The Second Cup**

Determination could be read on her face, fierceness could be seen in her eyes and authority could be felt through her pose. She was glaring at the high positioned dummy with a concentration. With a strong yell, Gabriella ran up and jumped as high as she could, turning around and kicking the dummy in mid-air. Landing on both of her feet, she tightened her black belt around her waist and looked around the room.

"And that is your teacher's magnificent flying kick." She smiled victoriously while the small group of young children ran up to her.

"Wow, that is so cool! When are we going to do that?" a small boy smiled up at her.

"Soon, if you are going to practice hard." Gabriella smiled when all the kids immediately went to their positions to start the lesson.

"Montez! Montez! Gabriella Montez! Something big has happened!" a man in his late fifties came in. Gabriella didn't bother to look up, instead she just kept on correcting the stances of each one of her students.

"I…I mean…Ms. Montez, can you please come out for a while because of my personal matter?" he tried again, quite intimidated by the young girl in front of him.

"The bathroom is blocked again isn't it?" a 5 years old girl looked up at the man with a disapproving look.

"Since when are small kids such smart-asses?" the old man mumbled and looked at Gabriella pleadingly.

"What is it Mr. Williams?" Gabriella turned around and sighed. He just had to interrupt every single one of her lessons.

"Can you just come out for a bit? It wont take long." The man beckoned her with his wrinkly hand.

"Practice on your own, I will be back in a minute." Gabriella turned to her students and smiled.

Walking down with the old man she had known her whole life, Gabriella went straight into the bathroom without another word and took the plunger with her.

"You call this a big issue? I could have done it later!" Gabriella yelled out at Mr. Williams who was standing just outside eating popsicles. "How can you ask me to unclog the toilet while I am teaching the kids?" she complained some more while doing the familiar job.

"Quit complaining…seriously," Mr. Williams yelled back at her. "young ones these days. Can't do anything without whining." He continued mumbling while looking around the street.

"Wouldn't it be better to do your business a little at a time?" Gabriella came out, finally done with the disgusting job she had to do almost every single day.

"Listen to yourself! Just wait till you are my age and we will see if you can do it a little at a time!" the old man scolded her and handed her a popsicle.

"Thanks." Gabriella mumbled and unwrapped the cold treat.

"Hey, I heard that the owner has put the big gym out for sale. Where are you going to have your classes then?" Mr. Williams started a conversation but Gabriella just shook her head and ignored it. It was another issue that was bothering her and she just didn't have the energy to deal with it at the moment.

"You know, the place where you do all that kick and jump and turn and twist!" he continued and filled every word with a movement he believed was karate. Gabriella just stared at him while thinking that the old man has finally lost it. Suddenly, something caught her attention from the corner of her eyes.

"Is that mom?" Gabriella turned around and looked.

"Oh! It's Maria!" the old man suddenly looked more lively than before. Gabriella just silently scanned her mother. Her clothes were as usual, a skirt and a blouse but for some reason, she was trying to walk as fast as possible without anyone noticing her. Suddenly it dawned on Gabriella.

"Are those new shoes?" She yelled out and started running. "Mother! Mother!" she yelled and tried to catch up to her mom, but Maria Montez was speed walking and ignoring her daughter's calls. "Mom, wait up!" she yelled out when her phone started ringing. Meanwhile, Mrs. Montez rounded the corner thus disappearing from Gabriella's sight.

"She slipped away again." Gabriella mumbled out, breathless. Quite angry, she flipped out her phone to answer it. "Hello?"

"_Dude" _a girly voice came out of the other end.

"I can't talk right now." Gabriella breathed out.

"There is a guy here that looks like a gangster and he won't leave me alone." The girl whined.

"You like gangsters so what's the problem?" Gabriella asked and looked around. "where the hell did she go?" she mumbled while searching the streets for her mother.

"How can you call me a gangster?" suddenly an unfamiliar man voice evaded Gabriella's ear. "You should call me a hunk or something like that." Gabriella froze and frowned at the voice. Who was this guy?

"Who is that?" she immediately asked with slight worry.

* * *

"Hey, I like girls who have slim arms and legs like you." The male sitting opposite of her chuckled but the girl just sneered.

"I think your face is a little bit too big." She said with a smirk and crossed her arms.

"Let me sit next to you." He smiled and went to move out of his seat.

"You will die if you sit next to me." She yelled out threateningly.

"What games are you trying to play here?" the boy chuckled knowingly but the girl just glared at him. "Don't you know my heart?" he pouted.

"I didn't know you had a heart." The girl said coldly and looked away.

"Come on Taylor…" the boy started to say but was interrupted by a fist that hit the table.

"What is going on here?" Gabriella glared at the strange guy. Looking at her and then Kelsi and then back, he pointed at Gabriella with his thumb.

"Who is he?" he asked with wide eyes. Gabriella just rolled her eyes and went to sit down next to Taylor. Yes, Taylor McKessie was her cousin but since Gabriella was an only child and Taylor's parents died long time ago, they lived in the same house which made them like sisters. However, as she was sitting down, Gabriella was suddenly pushed away by the guy who scrambled around the table and sat down next to Taylor, forcing Gabriella to take a seat opposite of them.

"Taylor, is he your boyfriend or something?" the guy asked and looked at Gabriella up and down. Gabriella looked down at herself. She was still wearing her karate outfit and sure, it was a bit too big on her, but it was very good for movement! Taylor just sighed and looked at him.

"Look, I understand that you like me but we are not meant to be." She shook her head. "Didn't you drop out of high school? You don't have education, you don't have money," she started listing out and then looked at him "and your face is really plain…What makes you try so hard?" she asked him.

"Can't you see I love you?" he asked and touched her hand. "You are my angel."

"I know Chad, but rather than love, I look more at conditions." Taylor tried to explain and Gabriella couldn't help but snicker.

"What are you saying?" Chad looked at her with wide eyes. "Are you saying that this loser's conditions are more acceptable?" he pointed straight at Gabriella.

"Point at me one more time and I am going to break your finger off." Gabriella growled out. She was actually having fun. Sure she was annoyed that whenever some guy bothered Taylor, she always called Gabriella for help, but looking at the guys being so carelessly rejected made her laugh. Taylor was a high school senior but for someone who was so young, she sure had her fair share of boyfriends. Too many if you asked Gabriella. A middle aged man suddenly came to them with a tray that carried three cups of coffee to the table.

"We didn't order anything." Chad protested and looked up at the owner of the old, run-down coffee shop.

"I know, that's why I bought them over. You talk too much, it's giving me a headache!" the man said sleepily and walked away. "I would do better if I closed this place down." He mumbled to himself on his way back.

"What kind of a place is this?" Chad looked around and noticed both Gabriella and Taylor take a sip of their drink.

"Don't you know? This is the famous Coffee Prince café!" Taylor mumbled.

"Hey!" Chad suddenly screamed out and looked at Gabriella. "Have a fight with me!" but Gabriella ignored him.

"Mr. Spencer! The coffee is awesome!" she turned to the owner and grinned at him.

"Gabs, let's just settle this quickly so we can go home." Taylor said while sipping on her hot beverage. Taylor often called Gabriella Gabs. Yes, it could be a nickname for a girl but most of the times people thought it was short for Gabriel.

"What? Home?" Chad yelled out and stood up. Grabbing a handful of Gabriella's shirt, he pulled her up so she was close to his face. "What are you planning on doing with my Taylor?" he shook her. "Are you living together?" he looked accusingly from Taylor to Gabriella.

"What are you going?" Taylor shrieked out.

"Let go of me." Gabriella said in a monotone voice.

"No! Tell me! Are you living together?" Chad shook her again. Gabriella lost her temper and slapped his hand but Chad held on.

"I told you to let go of me!" she glared at him.

"I am not letting go you punk! Let's battle this out!" Chad yelled out. Gabriella just sighed and twisted his hand causing Chad to yell out in pain and let go.

"Didn't I tell you to let go?" Gabriella asked coldly and stood up. When she saw that Chad was still clutching his hand in pain she sat back down. "Stop pretending that it hurts and remember this: The guy that I took care of three years ago is still staying at the emergency room right now. So just back off while luck is still on your side." She advised him with a concerned look and leaned back.

"Who the fuck do you think you are? Chad went to stand up again but this time Gabriella used her foot and tripped him so he ended up on the floor.

"You really don't get what I am saying right?" she asked loudly and then sighed as if to hold down her anger. "I am a karate teacher." She informed with a sympathetic tone.

"So what? I was a judo representative few years ago!" Chad told her with a brave voice.

"A judo representative that doesn't know judo." Taylor leaned over the seat to look at him.

"Look, I am the head of the family ok? If just because I beat up a guy like you I get called to the police, how am I supposed to take care of my family?" Gabriella explained to him and leaned back. "I have no strength left to talk to you because I am really hungry right now." She said and clutched her stomach as if in pain. "So why don't you leave quickly instead of trying to debate with me about something you have already lost?" she suggested.

"If I don't leave, will you fight with me?" Chad asked.

"What I will do right now, is order spaghetti because Coffee Prince has one of the best ones in town." Gabriella said and looked around for Mr. Spencer.

"Mr. Spencer I want spaghetti please!" she put her hand up and got a nod of confirmation from the owner. Chad went to launch at her but she grabbed his hair and slammed his face down the table. "You want to eat as well?" she asked him while holding him down and Chad groaned in pain.

* * *

"Ok, here it is." Mr. Spencer brought out a big tray. He stopped at the table and started putting all the plates down. Five plates of spaghetti on each side of the table and a huge basket of bread in the middle.

"Taylor, you cannot go back on your words ok?" Chad looked at Taylor who sat in the middle while Gabriella and Chad sat opposite of each other, each with five plates of pasta. "If I beat this idiot, you are going to be mine." Turning back to Gabriella he glared at her. "Do you have the money to pay for everything?" he asked.

"Me? Do you think I will lose? You are the one that will lose and pay for everything." She said while putting big pieces of bread into her mouth. "Mr. Spencer, you will be the judge." She told the owner before he could go away.

"God." He rolled him eyes. "The rule is that you must finish five plates of spaghetti. The first one to finish wins and the loser must pay for everything, including the coffee." He informed.

"But that wasn't said before!" Chad protested but the owner ignored him.

"Ok…Ready." He put his hand in the middle.

"Set." Taylor clapped her hand excitedly.

"Go!" They both yelled out in unison. Chad immediately turned to the first plate and started eating while Gabriella took her time, putting extra cheese in each of her plates and extra ketchup. Mixing it all together, she took the first plate into her hands and with the fork, she turned most of the noodles onto it and took a big bite.

Chad took some of the meat and sauce and put it in a different plate, finished with his first one and turned to the second one when Gabriella took the bread from the basket in order to get all of the sauce from the empty plate. You didn't want the sauce to go to waste!

Gabriella turned to her second plate when Chad was almost done with his second one.

"Hey! How can you say you finished if you still have the sauce left?" Taylor pointed to the plate that Chad put most of the sauce and meat in, only eating the noodles. Chad sighed and went to eat that one too.

Gabriella was done with her second one while Chad had three down and two to go.

"Rotten meat with mashed potatoes, fungus on pork…" Taylor started singing when Chad got to the last plate while Gabriella was still one her third one. It could be seen that Chad couldn't go any longer, and the disgusting images that Taylor was describing didn't really help his stomach. Gabriella just looked at Taylor and kept eating. Taking another bread, she put it all into her mouth and chewed.

"Spaghetti full of squirming and wriggling worms…" Taylor continued while Gabriella took her fourth plate and dumped it into the fifth one. Chad just stared at her with wide eyes while trying to swallow his food. Gabriella grabbed the strawberry juice that Taylor had on the table and poured it into her plate making Chad feel sick.

"This spaghetti is not that good today." She said with a full mouth. "Mr. Spencer! Can I get some more bread please!" she yelled out. Suddenly, Taylor took out a yoghurt and opened it. Stopping Chad in eating, she smiled brightly at him and took his plate. Pouring most of the yoghurt into his spaghetti, she took his fork and mixed everything together causing Chad to almost gag.

"It's really good!" Taylor smiled at him and put a fork with the noodles to his mouth. "Here, let me feed you!" she encouraged him. He looked at Taylor with wide eyes and felt like puking when Gabriella took the left over yoghurt and put it in her plate as well. Seeing her eating as if nothing has happened, he couldn't take it anymore and stood up to ran outside.

"Hey! The restroom is over there!" Gabriella yelled at him. Mr. Spencer came out to see what happened and looked at Gabriella questioningly who just shrugged her shoulders and continued eating.

* * *

Troy took a deep breath and stepped into the private study of the big Bolton mansion. In there, his father watched the latest NBA Game and ignored him when he came in. Putting the small plate with the desert on the coffee table in front of his father, Troy stood there, looking at the old man that supposedly raised him.

"Go to your grandmother." Jack Bolton said to his son without taking his eyes of the TV.

"I didn't even want to come in here but mom and grandma made me. I will stay for five minutes and then I will go." Troy said coldly and took a seat on the other side of the room. The place fell into a silence, the TV was the only thing that made noise and Troy looked at his father for a second before looking out of the window.

"Do you really don't want to see me so much that you wouldn't even come down for dinner?" he asked after a while of silence but he didn't get an answer. Troy didn't really expect one anyway. It was always like this. His father wouldn't even look at him and it felt like he was talking to a wall.

* * *

"Plans to straighten up Troy." Elizabeth Bolton mumbled while writing everything down into a small notepad. "Fist step: Get him under control. Second step: Bring out the proof and third step: Get him a woman." She wrote down while Lucille Bolton put a cup of hot tea in front of the old woman.

"Has Jack spoken to Troy yet?" Elizabeth asked without looking up from her notepad but Lucille didn't answer.

"Have you found a way to deal with Troy yet mother?" she asked softly. Even thought the old woman looked frail and weak, she scared Lucille sometimes…ok, most of the times.

"Yes, all of this!" Elizabeth circled her notes.

"I still feel that Troy wont understand your situation." Lucille said gently.

"Don't worry, I know what to do. That fellow is still immature." Elizabeth waved her daughter-in-law's words with one hand. "He will faint when he hears that I have cancer. Just let me take care of it." She continued. "I have already lived my life anyway and I am the kind of a person that will have no regrets even if I die tomorrow." She insisted. "But I am actually curious, I know Jack is the type to hide his emotions, but Troy used to like his father when he was young. What happened between those two? Why are they so cold towards each other now?" she put the pad down and turned to Lucille. "I thought it was going to get better as the time passed, but it seems to get worse day by day." She mused

"Mother, I am sure that if you asked them, they, themselves, would tell you that they don't know." Lucille chuckled. "I asked my friends and they said all men are same. Don't worry."

"How can that be?" Elizabeth protested but took a deep breath. "Ok, everything is settled. Call Troy over." She ordered.

Troy took a big bite of his apple and chewed while silence was surrounding him. He looked over at the two woman sitting opposite of him with big innocent eyes.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked his grandmother and his mother.

"You!" Elizabeth yelled out while Lucille tried to cover up her laughing.

Phase one: get him under control

"Spending my money so carelessly and playing around for five years! You couldn't possibly spend less in those five years could you!" Troy's grandmother pointed at him accusingly.

"Aw finally!" Troy pumped his fist in the air. "I finally feel like I am at home, now that I hear your beautiful screaming voice." He smiled charmingly at his grandma. Elizabeth was fuming and looking around for something to throw at her grandson.

"You punk! How dare you use your flirting strategies on me!" she scolded him. "I sent you overseas to study business and management and instead you learn about the best places to go out and drink and get girls! And what about that production company you wanted to start! That is falling apart as well!"

"Not only that but he also has six credit card fees he has to deal with." Lucille joined in and looked over at her mother in law.

"You manipulating little boy!" Elizabeth yelled out again. "Now you are playing around even more since the movie world was not enough for you! Didn't you promise you will be back before you hit thirty?"

"I am only twenty-nine now." Troy immediately jumped in to defend himself. "Grandma." He suddenly said in a gentle voice, "let's go down to the harbor and have snow cones like we used to." He suggested with a charming smile.

"What? Snow cones?" Elizabeth smiled with an excited look. Lucille looked over at her mother in law and tried to remind her of her task by slightly coughing, but when that didn't work, she gently nudged her to which Elizabeth just slapped her hand away and Troy looked down and smirked. He was the master of distracting his grandma, all ladies really but that was beside the point.

Elizabeth straightened out and sighed. Taking out a picture from her pocket, she slammed it on the table.

Phase two: Bring out the proof.

"Oh! It's him!" Troy took the picture and called out. There on the picture was him and his best friend. They were partying and they asked someone to take a picture of them. They were both without a shirt and his best friend kissed Troy on the cheek. Mind you, they were both fairly drunk by that time so neither really cared. "What is this doing here?" he asked the two women sitting in front of him.

"Are you two in love?" his mother looked at him with concern written all over her face. "Both of you are always sticking together and you seem very close…intimate almost."

"Intimate?" Troy asked and burst out laughing.

"Is this not intimate?" His grandmother asked him angrily. "You rascal! You keep such a good image in front of your grandma and your parents. A man in his thirties should be settled down with a family already while you go around smooching with another boy!" she yelled out and Troy tried to contain his laughter.

"Who says 'smooching' anymore grandma?" he asked and Elizabeth threw a cushion at him angrily.

Phase three: Get him a woman

"Get married immediately!" Elizabeth screamed out on top of her lungs.

"Then how should I do it?" Troy mused out loud. "Should a go on a blind date? Should I go on a match-making date? But the woman has to be really pretty…" he stopped at looked at his grandmother "I am doing this for you, you know? It's for you so you can have great grand children." He informed her.

"See? I told you it wouldn't work!" Lucille whispered to Elizabeth but loud enough for Troy to hear.

"We still had to give it a try." Elizabeth whispered back and glared at Troy who couldn't help but chuckle.

"So cute." He mumbled and continued to laugh silently.

* * *

**A/N: tell us what you think! PWEEAASSEEE review! :P remember, the more reviews we get, the faster we update! :P xoxo**


	3. The Third Cup

**A/N: Hey people! So we are quite sad about the number of reviews for the last chapter but guess that's expected since nothing has been happening! But this chapter is LOADED! hahaha...oh well...**

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**Disclaimer: We do not own any of this coffee.. :P**

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* * *

The Third Cup**

"I am home!" Gabriella yelled out as she closed the door.

"We are all in the living room!" her mother, Maria Montez, answered. Gabriella walked in and threw her bag in the corner of the room.

"I am so tired!" She complained and threw herself on the couch. Looking around, she noticed Taylor sitting and reading a book while her mother was sitting on the floor, with dolls made out of cloths spread out all around her.

"You work way to hard sweetie." Her mother nodded while sewing small eyes made out of buttons on the doll's head. It wasn't much but Maria had to do this in order to get some money into the family. She also worked part time in the hospital as a cleaning lady and from time to time, she would carter in various events.

"Did you finish with today's batch yet?" Gabriella asked her mother, motioning to the dolls on the floor. She didn't like the fact that her mother had to work like this but they had to have money to live. When Gabriella was smaller, she would dream that one day she could go off to college and study and become successful. Then she would work and have money so she could buy her mother anything she wanted and they would never have to worry about saving anymore. But those were all just dreams and this was the reality. Well, at least there was still some hope for Taylor. Gabriella sighed and looked over at her cousin. They would work hard, so she could get a proper education and live a better life.

"No, not yet, I just returned from my class reunion." Maria answered and kept sewing.

"Mom! The shoes!" Gabriella suddenly remembered and sat up.

"Ah! Don't worry about those!" her mom quickly answered "they were not expensive at all!" She explained but immediately looked down. That was one of the problems with her mom. Maria liked to spend money…money that they didn't have. She would always blame her shopping on the stress but Gabriella knew that her mother just couldn't resist the shops.

"100 bucks out of the window." Taylor sang quietly still holding the book in her hands.

"Taylor!" Maria hissed out.

"Mom! You think $100 is a small amount of money?" Gabriella yelled out, it was louder than she expected and even though she saw her mother flinch at her voice, she couldn't bring herself to calm down.

"Of course I don't sweetie! That is why I am working so hard now even though my fingers are all bloody from the needles!" her mother said.

"You wouldn't have to work hard if you saved up a little mom." Taylor chimed in. She has lived in the family basically her whole life therefore it only made sense to her to call Maria Montez 'mom'. Maria went to say something when her cell phone rang. Taking it out, she broke into one of her fake smiles and answered the phone.

"Hello? Maria Montez speaking!" Gabriella and Taylor both rolled their eyes but kept quiet. Trying to listen in to the conversation they both noticed the change in demeanor of Mrs. Montez.

"Oh hi Corey!" she laughed. "Of course I got home safely." She said and Gabriella just assumed it was her old classmate.

"What? The ring? Ahh yea, of course I am wearing it right n…" she looked at her hand but stopped dead in her tracks. "Now where is it?" she mumbled out and Gabriella looked at her with worry. What did her mother get herself into this time?

"No! Of course I have it! It's just…" Maria looked around the room, clearly searching for something. "My room! Yes, I must have left it in my room." She laughed "why don't I call you when I find it Corey?" she asked and then nodded. "Ok then! Bye bye!" she shut her phone and looked around again.

"What's wrong?" Gabriella asked but her mother ignored her.

"Where did I put it?" she looked around. "Oh! My handbag! It must be in my handbag!" she yelled out and stood up quickly to go and get it.

"Did she mention a ring?" Gabriella turned to Taylor with a worry in her eyes.

"Yea, but why would some lady from her reunion class want her to find it?" Taylor nodded, confused.

"Help me! It's not in the handbag either!" Maria came back to her room with panic written on her face. Gabriella stared at her with shock.

No! This was not happening to her…this simply couldn't happen.

* * *

Leaning the bike against the wall of his house, he released his dog from the leash and stepped inside. Sighing, he walked up into his room and out onto the balcony. He could no longer stand up straight and even though he has been biking just now, his legs seemed as though they would break any second now. His shoulders were hunched down and he had to lean on the railing for support. Anyone that would see him would be able to say what's wrong with him right away. There was no point at looking at his eyes either because even though they were once the electrifying shade of green, they were dead now.

Turning around, he looked back into the room, noticing the small toy plane that was attached to his ceiling. It looked innocent but brought back a lot of memories. A lot of painful memories that is…

"_Ready…start!" the young blonde woman seated opposite of him said and the room fell into the silence._ _They had a competition to see who will blink first. He was not prepared to lose but could not help but let his concentration slip. _

_The woman in front of him was breathtaking. They had just woken up and she was wearing nothing but one of his shirts. Her blonde hair was messy and she wasn't wearing any make-up. But to him, she was the most beautiful woman in the world. Needless to say, he was in love with her. _

"_You are going to lose Ryan." She said, while staring into his eyes, they were so green then. _

"_In your dreams." He mumbled out. Yes, he didn't know how he got so lucky but he was dating the prettiest girl he had ever laid eyes on and they were happy. He didn't even know how it happened. Watching her carefully, Ryan noticed how her hand was moving up to her face. Taking one finger, she put it in her mouth and then started to move it closer to him. _

"_Don't. Don't do it." He warned her slowly but she ignored him with a smirk. "Don't do it! That's playing dirty!" he said and tried to grab her hand which immediately turned into small wrestling. _

"_No way!" the girl laughed out loud. _

"_Really? So you weren't planning on doing it?" Ryan asked light-heartedly and tackled her. Straddling her, he pinned her hands above her head and leaned down to kiss her softly but she turned her head in time, so his kiss landed on her cheek. _

"_Oh so that's how you want to do it." Ryan smirked and the girl giggled. Trying to tickle her, Ryan noted how perfect this morning was, hoping it will never end, just as both of them fell off the bed. _

The sound of laughter faded as did the memory. Those perfect mornings were just a history now and Ryan looked down in pain. Things never last, and when they end, they leave an enormous amount of pain behind.

* * *

"_Hello?"_

"Hey Shar."

"_Why do you sound so breathless?" _

"It's because of you Shar." Troy smirked. Sharpay Adams, one of the most beautiful woman in Troy's life. Even though she was untouchable, Troy could not help but be very happy when hearing her voice.

"_For some reason I feel good when you call me Shar."_

"How are you doing?" he chuckled.

"_Hey, isn't it supposed to be very early morning over there?"_ she asked with suspicion. Troy had to keep himself from laughing. He was making a lot of effort already, talking on the phone while jogging. If her was to laugh as well, he won't be able to run as far. But he couldn't help it. Sharpay knew him so well! She knew he would never wake up too early, unless there was something super important going on.

"Actually, I am in L.A. now." He said and smiled, waiting for her reaction.

"_Are you kidding?"_ she gasped in shock. Yes, it has been quite a long time since he was in town.

"Let's meet." Troy suggested instead.

"_What? You are really in town?" _Sharpay asked.

"Why else would I be calling you?" he said in an amused tone.

"_Fine, let's meet at T.G.I. Friday's tonight." _She agreed and hung up.

Troy put his phone back into his pocket and put his earphones back into his ears. He couldn't help but have a huge grin on his face. To say he was happy was an understatement. Troy pumped his fist up in the air and jumped out with joy. It was going to be a good night.

* * *

"Can you wait just a second here? I need to go up and get something from my friend. I will be right back down and take you home." Troy turned to Sharpay and turned off the car engine.

"Sure thing." Sharpay nodded and both got out of the car. "I will wait for you outside, it's such a nice night." She smiled and took a deep breath. "I love this city."

"Yea, it's great." Troy smiled and looked down on the ground. They fell into a silence but Troy knew Sharpay had something on her mind.

"How is he?" she suddenly asked and Troy closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again and looking at the woman in front of him.

"As good as he can be after ending things with the best thing that ever happened to him...my dear cousin…" Troy answered and observed her reaction. Sharpay didn't dare to look up at Troy but he knew how she felt but he chose to ignore it.

"Wasn't it a bit too much, breaking up after all of that?" he asked, knowing she would understand what he meant.

"Why are you completely ignoring how I feel right now?" Sharpay asked. Yes, he knew how she felt about this topic but he couldn't stop.

"You know you can get back together with him." He told her.

"Meet up with him again?" Sharpay mused and had a far away look on her face.

"You were a bit cruel to him. You were his first love after all…" Troy said and took a step back. When she didn't say anything else, Troy turned around.

"I will be back in a second." He said and went inside the building.

* * *

"_Do I look so stupid as to trust a part timer like you and give you an advance pay for three months? Now get out of my sight!" _Gabriella could still hear her boss' voice in her head while she focused on the road in front of her. He was right though, how could he give an advance pay to someone that he isn't sure would even be working for him next week?

However, Gabriella needed the money. The ring that her mother had lost still couldn't be found and it wasn't even their ring! If they didn't find it, they would have to pay for it and from what her mother told her, it was an expensive heirloom. Moreover, they had to pay a deposit on their house soon and it wasn't cheap either!

All of this made Gabriella's head spin when she suddenly noticed a motorbike driver that was passing her and showing off right in front of her and then speeding up again.

"Does he really think he is faster than me?" Gabriella asked herself and smirked. That was never going to happen! Speeding up again, she decided to follow the motorbike! She didn't have anything else to do anyway. Gabriella made a turn after the unknown figure, when she noticed that he had gotten closer to a woman who was standing by a car. Suddenly, the driver reached out and snatched the purse that woman was holding and she fell down from the impact.

"A thief! Not on my watch!" Gabriella mumbled and sped up even more. The thief realized it was a dead end turned around. When he was getting neared to Gabriella, she stood up, letting her bike fall down and took off her helmet. Thinking fast, she quickly threw the helmet at the thief, knocking him down.

* * *

Troy walked out of the building when he saw Sharpay on the ground. Dropping everything, he quickly ran to her and knelt down.

"Shar! Are you ok?" he asked with evident worry.

"Yea, but my handbag." She said, breathing heavily and wincing. Troy looked around and saw that someone has knocked the guy with Sharpay's handbag down onto the ground.

"Are you hurt somewhere?" he asked, even though it was evident that she had hurt her elbow when she tried to soften the fall and her leg was bruised and scratched.

"I am fine." Sharpay said and winced.

"Stop saying you are fine and try to stand up Sharpay!" Troy said and slowly helped her up onto her feet.

"You only call me Sharpay when you are all flustered and angry." She tried to joke but even though she was standing, most of her weight was being supported by Troy.

* * *

"Get up you scumbag!" Gabriella went over to the thief and turned him around. However, what she saw shocked her.

"Chad? What the fuck do you think you are doing?" she asked, and angrily slapped his helmet.

"It's you!" Chad said with wide eyes and tried to wriggle out of her grasp.

"How dare you steal from other people?" Gabriella held him down even tighter.

"That's none of your damn business!" He yelled out and tried to escape again,

"You punk! Do you think it's fun stealing other people's things?" Gabriella pressed her knee against his back and Chad yelped out in pain.

"It's not for fun! I wanted to pay for Taylor's school fees!" he hissed out.

"School fees?" Gabriella repeated, not believing what she just heard.

* * *

"It looks like someone has caught the thief." Sharpay pointed at the two unknown people who were struggling against each other.

"Let me go there and sort this out. You stay here." Troy told her but Sharpay stopped him.

"Let's go there together." She said and slowly limped his way.

* * *

"Why do you care about her so much if she is my girl?" Gabriella asked and pulled Chad up.

"Taylor is my angel!" he proclaimed but received another slap from Gabriella.

"Angel my ass…" she mumbled "Get up!" Even though she wouldn't admit it, she was kind of touched that there was someone like this that was prepared to steal for her sister. However, from the corner of her eyes, she saw the injured lady limping toward them with a man.

"Ouch." Chad complained when Gabriella's grip got tighter.

"People like you should be put in jail! Follow me!" Gabriella said out loud. Loud enough for the people that were coming towards them to hear.

"You must have lost your mind!" Chad protested.

"Hey, grab your chance and run away when I release you ok?" Gabriella suddenly instructed him, quietly so the people wouldn't hear. He might have been stealing, but his purpose was very generous and anyway, the bag would be returned to the lady. So no harm done. Gabriella knew, he was a good kid. He just needed some more teaching.

"What?" Chad asked, not understanding.

"You idiot!" Gabriella slapped him again. "When I release, you will run. Got it?" she asked him and quickly turn around to see where the man and the woman were.

"A young punk like you, how dare you steal from other people?" She shook him and asked in a loud voice. They were quite near and Gabriella knew that the window of opportunity was quickly closing.

"Wait-" Chad said, still not fully understanding.

"On the count of three…" Gabriella whispered and looked back again to see that the man had a very suspicious expression on his face.

"Uhm…" Chad began again.

"One." Gabriella held up one of her fingers while still clutching Chad.

"How-"

"Two…" she glanced back again. "Remember to push me and run as fast as you can." She mumbled. "Three!" she released but Chad just stood there staring at her.

"What are you waiting for you dumb ass! Push me and run!" she hissed out and glanced back at the people again. They were three steps away from them now when Chad's bulb suddenly went on and he slightly pushed Gabriella down. Over dramatizing her fall, Gabriella yelled out but stood up quickly, trying to run after him. However, after about 3 meters, she pretended to trip and fall again.

"Hey! You punk! Stop right there!" she yelled after him again. Turning around, she went back to the two people, grabbing the handbag on her way.

"Oh man! He escaped!" she informed them, as if they didn't see for themselves just now. "Here you go." She handed the bag to the lady who seemed to be quite injured. Bending down, she looked at the lady's knee. "Oh my! You are bleeding! Are you hurt a lot?" she asked with a sincere concern.

"Yea, I am fine." She answered. "Thanks for getting back my bag." Gabriella kept staring at the knee but when she went to stand up, she turned to another pair of legs. Her eye level was exactly at the crotch of that man. Freezing up, Gabriella slowly looked up at the man and then back down. Suddenly, memories of that one man she delivered pizza to that flashed his manhood at her came flooding back into her mind. Staring at it, she realized it was him! The guy from before! He was standing right in front of her, staring down at her funnily. Suddenly Gabriella stood up straight and took two steps back. Looking at her bike, she gasped out and picked it up. Sitting on it, she tried to start it up, but it wouldn't.

"Screw this." She cursed under her breath which didn't go unnoticed by the lady.

"Oh my! Your bike!" she gasped out and tried to over there but her injured leg gave out causing the man to have to support her again.

"Sharpay! Don't move please." He said with concern and Gabriella briefly wondered if they were a couple.

"But it's my fault Troy! What are we going to do?" Sharpay said.

"Don't worry about it." Gabriella shook her head nervously. "It was an old piece of junk anyway."

"Send it to the service and then call me, I will take care of the costs." Sharpay suddenly said and started digging in her purse for her business card however Troy stopped her and pushed her behind him. Walking up to Gabriella, he looked her up and down.

"You planned this act beforehand right?" Troy asked with a sneer. He knew these type of people. One person would rob, the second one would pretend that they caught him but some damage was done, therefore they would get a "thank-you for your help and sorry for your inconvenience" money.

"What?" Gabriella asked, not understanding him.

"So you could get some money for the damage." Troy elaborated and smirked. Yeah, he busted someone in front of Sharpay! Gabriella couldn't believe her ears. Was this guy for real? Deciding to ignore him, she turned back to her bike to try and start it up again.

"I mean, isn't it a bit dangerous for the criminal to stay on the crime scene?" Troy continued and looked Gabriella up and down. Looking at the motorbike, Troy kicked the back few times.

"What exactly are you talking about here?" Gabriella yelled out in anger. Why couldn't he just let it go, stupid jerk!

"How can you fix this anyway?" Troy asked and kicked it again. "It's basically belongs to the junk yard already." He said with another kick.

"Troy." Sharpay warned him with a low voice.

"Just give me a call if you decide to be frank about it." Troy sighed and pulled out his own business card. Gabriella just looked at it and turned away. She was not going to take anyone's crap. Troy just tucked it inside the pocket of her jacket. "I will be able to help you out since you seem to have such a pitiful life." He added and went to help Sharpay.

"What's wrong with you?" Sharpay yelled at him.

"Aren't you the one who got hurt?" Troy yelled back in frustration and took her hand to lead her away.

"Why are you like that?" Sharpay hissed at him.

"Don't you understand those kind of people? They are not the type of people to be friendly with!" Troy hissed back and led her away. Gabriella just looked after them, deliberating whether or not she should punch that guy.

"Hey!" she suddenly yelled out. "Hey you!" she screamed out at them, but Troy just ignored her. "I am not that kind of a person!" she tried again but when they didn't turn around, she stopped it and hit her motorbike in anger, causing the rearview mirror to fall down onto the road.

She was in so much trouble.

* * *

**A/N: REVIEW people! remember, that's what keeps us going and writing this story! xoxo**


	4. The Fourth Cup

**A/N: Hey people! We know...we know...we are SO SORRY! but everything was so hectic and we were just not in the mood of writing...so to make up for it. This is the fourth chapter and it's quite long.**

**PLEASE REVIEW...because the Fifth Cup will be SO much fun to both write and read!**

**Btw...can you believe Zanessa split? it broke our hearts! SO SHOCKING! :(( we never thought the day would come...but it did and it was sad...so saaddd they belong together! WHY! :((**

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**REVIEW AND ENJOY! 3**

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* * *

Fourth Cup**

"_Hey, how are you doing?" _ A simple question asked by his cousin but Ryan couldn't help but wonder: What was the answer to it? He wished the answer was as simple as the question was but life was not that way. He didn't know how he was doing himself so how could he tell Troy?

"I've been better I guess…what's happening with you?" he was eager to change the topic and besides, that answer was as good as it was going to get. There was no better way to reply anyway.

"_I see what you are doing…" _Troy chuckled over the phone. _"I'm actually in town right now. Why don't we meet for drinks tonight?"_ he suggested and Ryan sighed, if he wasn't family, he would have told him he is not in the mood and just hang up but this was Troy. You hang up on Troy, he comes to your house…

"Fine. Nine o'clock. The bar we went to before you left." Ryan replied and hung up. He didn't want to go out but maybe a few drinks wouldn't hurt. He needed to take his mind of some stuff anyway. Taking his coffee from the kitchen table, he took it out to the terrace and sat down. It was a nice morning and he felt like it has been forever since he got to relax anyway. Suddenly, he heard Shadow howling at the gate as if someone was on the other side talking to him. Turning around, he listened carefully to the voice.

* * *

Gabriella has been delivering milk the whole morning since 3am and frankly she was exhausted. Earlier, she took her scooter to the owner of the restaurant and got fired thanks to it. She was given the broken bike in exchange for no salary which meant she had to work harder and find another job. Turning around the corner on the bicycle, she came to a stop in front of her favourite gate. Not that she knew who lived there but it was the dog that made her so happy. It was the only thing that made her smile during her delivery time. Resting the bike against the wall, she took out a bottle of milk and crouched down on the ground.

"Hey there little girl." She cooed happily and fluffed the dog's fur. "Why don't we howl together a little?" She suggested and giggled. Taking a deep breath, she let out a howl and then looked at the dog. Immediately as if on cue, the dog barked back at her and Gabriella laughed.

"Great work girl!" she smiled and petted him again. "You just made this girl a bit happier today." She told him as if he could listen and understand. "I have been feeling quite down recently but you made me feel better." She sighed. "Thanks a million love!" she laughed again and kissed his head that was sticking out of the bottom of the big gate. "Hey, what's your daddy doing these days huh?" she asked as if she knew the owner. She never saw him really but she knew it was a man as she heard him call the dog once. "You should drag him out more often so you can make more people happy aye?" she added and stood up. "Ok, I still have few more houses to deliver to. I will see you later ok?" she petted her for the last time and turned around. "Bye bye!" she called out before she cycled off. Suddenly the gate opened and Ryan stepped out with Shadow on the leash. Looking at the girl cycling off he chuckled amused.

"Who is that girl? She seems interesting." He looked down at his dog and back up at the girl. "Is she your girlfriend huh?" he laughed and closed the gate. Even his dog had more game than him…

* * *

"I'm sorry Mrs. Peterson but my mom is not in right now." Taylor held the phone between her shoulder and her ear while she cut the tomatoes. "The ring? Ah yes, Gabriella and my mom are looking for it right now…yes, yes of course I will have her call you as soon as she gets back. Don't worry Mrs. Peterson, she will find it soon. Ok…bye." She hung up and sighed as Gabriella walked in.

"Who was that?" Gabriella asked while opening the fridge. She was tired and she was hungry so there better be something for her to eat.

"That was Mrs. Peterson. Apparently the ring belongs to her sister-in-law and she is coming back from a trip next week so she needs the ring back." Taylor said and looked at Gabriella who was shoving a whole piece of ham and cheese sandwich into her mouth. "Did you get any money to pay for the ring?" she asked concerned.

"Money? How?" Gabriella replied with an annoyed tone. "I just got fired because of that dimwit of yours."

"What are you snapping at me for?" Taylor fired back while giving a plate of leftovers to Gabriella. "If you want to snap and someone then go to that jerk from before and ask him to fix your scooter. Besides, you are the one who butted into other people's business." She rolled her eyes and sat down with a huff.

"If you studied like you talked you'd get into Harvard." Gabriella glared at her and went to pick up her phone that was ringing.

"At least I am better than you. You can't study or talk." Taylor mumbled and took Gabriella's food.

"Hello?" Gabriella picked up. "Ah yes sir…" she stood up and walked over to the window with Taylor following her in suit. "What do you mean by raising the deposit on the house?" Gabriella asked with voice full of worry.

"Who is it?" Taylor whispered. She didn't like the way Gabriella changed her expression when she picked up the phone.

"Yes, I understand you have been very patient with us sir but you can't suddenly decide to raise the deposit like that." Gabriella sighed. This was another thing thrown onto her pile of worries.

"Is it the landlord?" Taylor asked again but all she got was a hand wave to be quiet.

"Yes sir. I understand sir." Gabriella said with confidence but her face showed she was on the verge of breaking down. "Thank you sir. Bye." She hung up and hit her head against the table.

"What?" Taylor looked at her sister with worry. "Does the landlord want us to give him more money for the house?" she asked with fear. How were they going to pay for all of that?

"Yea, he increased it by 20%." Gabriella sighed and pulled her hair with frustration.

"But he raised it few months ago as well! How can he do that to us?" Taylor cried out and frowned.

"What ever, let's just eat." Gabriella took a deep breath and picked up her spoon.

"What? How can you eat at a time like this?" Taylor complained and looked at Gabriella disbelievingly.

"Just shut up." Gabriella said and put a spoonful of food into her mouth. She had to get another job soon to be able to pay for the rent, for the ring and for Taylor's school. Screw her life.

* * *

The sound of Rock music filled the studio and Ryan closed his eyes to absorb the melody and look for things to improve. This was one of the few places he could escape to and shut out the whole world for a while.

"David, this should be a little higher." He instructed one of the tech guys and pointed at the screen. Listening to it again, he motioned for the band in the recording booth to stop.

"I think the tempo is a bit too slow. The music sort of drags a bit." He told them through the speakers and got a nod from them as a sign of understanding. This was one of the places where he could be in control and he loved every moment of it. "Let's try it again." He said putting the headphones down when his assistant came into the room.

"Ryan, someone is here to see you."

"Who is it?" Ryan asked curiously but all he got was a shrug of the shoulders. Standing up, he went to walk outside while contemplating on who would go and interrupt him during his working hours. Opening the door to his office, he froze on the spot as he recognized the person sitting in the chair looking at him. It was her.

"How have you been?" She asked while sipping on the drink she brought with her. Him holding another can. However, she didn't get a reply. Taking a deep breath she tried again. "Isn't it quite hot outside? The sky is so dark, I wonder if it's going to rain…Maybe a storm is coming?" she looked at him for an answer but didn't get any. Shifting uncomfortably, Sharpay took a sip of her drink and looked down at the floor. She didn't know what to say and he didn't look like he was going to initiate any conversation.

"It's been a month since I came back." She told him after a long silence. "I'm sorry." She blurted out and closed her eyes. This was harder than she thought it would be and she would give just about anything for him to respond to her. Even if it was just one word. "I've missed you…" she mumbled out and looked away while Ryan's head snapped up and he looked at her. "Say something will you?" Sharpay asked with a slight annoyance. Ryan stood up and turned to her.

"Leave." He said and took a deep breath. "You left without a warning and you show up without a warning." Without saying anything else, he took a step to leave but then turned to her again. "And by the way, I don't drink this stuff anymore." He informed her throwing the can against the wall with as much power as he could and walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

* * *

Gabriella sighed and took a sip of her coffee. Throwing the newspaper on the table, she groaned out.

"You have been sitting here all afternoon looking through papers after papers and still didn't find any job?" Mr. Spencer asked the girl with pity. Gabriella rubbed her eyes and shook her head. She spent the whole afternoon in Coffee Prince trying to look for a job offering in the newspapers but so far didn't find any that she was qualified for. It was a pain in the butt but she had to find something soon or else there would be no money.

"Have you eaten anything?" the kind owner asked her and Gabriella shook her head again. "Do you want me to make you a sandwich?" he suggested and Gabriella smiled gratefully.

"Maybe I should ask for a loan without collateral?" Gabriella asked Mr. Spencer who shook his head while he brought her food.

"Don't, they are loan sharks. They will force you to give them a kidney if you don't have the money to pay back." He advised her and went back to the counter, not that he had any customers to serve.

"Then how am I going to get money?" Gabriella wondered out loud.

"Why don't you contact the guy from before and ask him for your reward money for catching the thief?" Mr. Spencer suggested and Gabriella immediately took out the business card from her pocket.

"Troy Bolton" she read out. "No, how can I ask for reward money?" she shook her head. "it was Taylor's boyfriend who tried to steal the purse." She said and continued staring at the card.

"But this guys doesn't know that right?" Mr. Spencer said but Gabriella shook her head again. "Hey, this is no time for you to bring out your pride." He said and took out an envelope from his back pocket. Handing it to Gabriella, he chuckled lightly. "Here, this isn't much, just some spending money I set aside but take it." He shoved it in her hands before she could protest. Gabriella looked at the envelope in surprise but before she could protest, the old man shoved her out of his coffee shop and closed the door.

* * *

"As usual, grandma is on my side…" Troy chuckled and took a sip of his wine. "But mother wont let me slack off anymore." He complained while Ryan just laughed.

"You are an idiot my friend." He patted Troy's shoulder.

"Why don't you take over the company?" Troy asked his cousin seriously.

"Me?" Ryan laughed and looked at his wine glass. "I love music way too much." He answered simply. "But you, you have nothing to do. Why don't you take the company?" he asked back.

"Because unlike you, I can't seem to do anything properly." Troy said and finished his glass, pouring himself another one.

"Do I sense a hint of resentment in that statement?" Ryan asked jokingly and Troy laughed.

"I met Sharpay…" Troy said out of nowhere and the smile on Ryan's face slowly disappeared. When Ryan didn't say anything, Troy continued. "You know she gave up her life in New York for you…"

"Let's not talk about this right now." Ryan jumped in coldly and poured more wine into each glass.

"Then what do we talk about?" Troy asked with a smile.

"Do you still love her?" Ryan immediately asked back with an amused face.

"You don't have to worry." Troy replied and leaned back. "She told me she doesn't love me. Nothing interesting about that." He sighed and looked at his cousin.

* * *

"Are you kidding me?" Gabriella moaned and scrunched up her face at the high heels she had to wear. Her old friend Amy helped her get a job for the night at a wine bar but what she didn't say was that the uniforms for the waiters included black dress pants, a white shirt, a red vest, long black apron that was hard to walk in and not to for get the high stilettos. Putting the shoes on, she stumbled out of the changing room almost hitting the manager.

"Stand up properly and hurry up! We have a lot of guests tonight." The manager hissed at her impatiently. Looking at Gabriella stumbling around the hallway, unable to walk straight in the high heels, he clicked his tongue. "How are you going to work like this?"

"Exactly!" Gabriella yelped out, almost spraining her ankle. "can't you just put me on kitchen duty or something?" She tried to plead with the manager but he just turned and glared at her.

"You are just filling in for a sick waiter tonight so hurry up!" he told her and walked away. Gabriella sighed and walked out slowly into the guest area. Looking at a table, she saw a guy lying all over it, obviously passed out from drinking too much.

"He is passed out!" Gabriella exclaimed and one of the waiters hurried over to her.

"Go and call a cab." The waiter told her.

"Uhm…ok." Gabriella said and hurried to the drunken man. Trying to wake him up, she turned around and slowly lifted him onto her back so she could carry him out. Around her, the other customers gasped in surprise.

"She is so strong!"

"Wow, she is so strong!"

"I am not drunk."

Gabriella just ignored the murmurs and slowly dragged the man out onto the streets. Have you ever tried to give a middle aged man who was drunk a piggy back ride in high heels that you could not even walk on properly yourself? Not a good idea…

"Mister! What is your home address?" Gabriella tried to talk to him but it was no use. She didn't get any proper answer from him…what else would you expect from drunks… "tell me what is your address right now or else I am going to drop you on the floor right here right now." Gabriella threatened him but to no use.

"Just go…I already told you." The man mumbled out and Gabriella sighed. She made a mental note to never drink.

* * *

Looking out of the window, Troy almost chocked on his wine.

"What?" Ryan laughed out and followed Troy's gaze. "Wow, that girl is so strong." He chuckled in amazement. Finishing his glass, Ryan looked at the empty bottle and then at Troy.

"Another bottle?" he suggested but Troy shook his head.

"Actually, I have to meet some people…sorry." He said and stood up. The two walked out of the bar towards a waiting taxi.

"How are you getting home?" Troy asked before getting into the car.

"I am just going to call my driver. Don't worry. I will see you soon yea?" Ryan said and waved. Watching Troy drive off, he smiled and looked around. It was a surprisingly good night with his cousin. Taking out his phone, he called for his driver to pick him up. Turning around, he noticed the strong girl from before going out with two big garbage bags while singing and dancing.

_**Do you remember the nights**__**  
**__**We'd stay up just laughing**__**  
**__**Smiling for hours**__**  
**__**At anything**__**  
**__**Remember the nights**__**  
**__**We drove around crazy in love**_

Throwing the bags onto the big pile that was going to be picked up by the trucks later, Gabriella turned to see a guy standing right next to her looking at her funnily. Suddenly a realization dawned on her.

"Wait. You are my girl's owner right?" she asked curiously.

"What?" Ryan asked confused.

"You are the owner of the dog in the Brentwood park aren't you?" Gabriella told him and laughed.

"Oh…you mean Shadow?" Ryan asked amused so is that the girl that he saw playing with his dog the other day?

"So her name is Shadow…" Gabriella repeated the name.

"You live in that neighborhood too then?" Ryan laughed.

"Actually," Gabriella chuckled nervously, "I deliver milk there…bet you didn't know that."

"Oh! So you are the milk lady! You are Shadow's girlfriend!" Ryan cried out with excitement.

"Yea, the milk lady…" Gabriella nodded and then stopped. "Wait, your dog is a male?" she asked surprised and Ryan nodded.

"I thought the things hanging from its tummy were the tits…" Gabriella mused out loud and Ryan laughed. "Oh wait…that's right, there was only one…" she remembered and looked down in embarrassment.

"Hey replacement! Get your butt in here!" The manager's voice suddenly rang through the empty street.

"Yea! I'll be right back!" Gabriella yelled back and started running. Turning back quickly, she gave a wave to Shadow's owner and smiled. "See you some other time!"

* * *

"Troy! Troy! Troy!" an highly annoying voice cut through the loud music of the club and Troy turned around. Suddenly out of nowhere, a girl came rushing into his arms and he pushed her off.

"What the hell!" he yelped out and looked at her.

"Why didn't you tell me you were back darling?" Jamie the girl that he might have hooked up with once or twice before whined into his ears.

"Wait who is this?" Trace, a friend of Troy's asked, checking the girl out from top to bottom but Troy just ignored him and the other guys that were sitting around the table.

"Troy! You know, if you weren't going to come back from Europe, I was planning on going there to you!" Jamie informed him in a whiny voice that annoyed the hell out of him. This is why they hooked up only once or twice.

"Seriously get rid of her." Simon, another buddy of Troy's, spoke up.

"Troy! I heard you were going to do the stupid match-making thing!" she squealed out and Troy had to close his eyes for a moment to adjust to the pitch.

"Who told you about that?" he asked her offensively. No one was supposed to know that.

"A friend of mine called me! She got set up with you! You shouldn't go for her. She is completely fake! She had a boob job done few months ago and you can see they are fake from miles away. Not to mention her nose…" Troy let her talk but tuned her out. There was no point of telling her to shut up because she would probably whine more.

"Her voice is giving me the creeps." Trace hissed out and Troy just laughed.

* * *

"Money. Pride. Pride. Money…." Gabriella mused while sitting on the bus with her notebook opened. She didn't know what to do and what to choose. On one hand, she was too proud to go to someone and beg for money for something she didn't really do. But on the other hand, she needed money badly and she couldn't see any other way of getting it. What was she going to do?

"What am I going to choose?" she sang out and sighed. This was harder than she expected it to be. Looking down at her notebook, she calculated her savings. She had $4200 left in the bank, $8000 for teaching at the gym, she was 3 months late with paying the bills… $2000 for attaching eyes to the dolls, $3000 from delivering milk…the thing was in 15 days.

"Great…all together I have about $10000…" Gabriella sighed. It was so not enough for anything! "I have another $50000 saved up so that makes it $60000…" She mumbled to herself. Great…she was still $80000 short to repay everything and pay for all the things they needed. "Kill me right now." She breathed out and hit her head against the window. Looking around, she noticed she was the only one on the bus. After all, it was super late already and this was the last bus to go for the night. Since she had no car and her scooter was broken, she had to resort to using buses and subways even though they were creepy and she has heard way too many stories of girls getting raped and killed at night when they were all alone. Her stomach growled and she looked down at it in thought.

"Pride won't feed me. Money will!"

* * *

Why was everything spinning? The whole hotel room, couldn't it just stay in one place? And the noises, everything was so much louder. His head, it was like a truck has run over his head twice and now a hammer was hitting it over and over again. Suddenly his phone rang and Troy opened his eyes and groaned out. It was way too bright for him. Looking through the pockets of his pants on the floor, Troy took out his phone and answered it.

"Hello?" he croaked out, still half asleep.

_"Hi, may I speak to Mr. Troy Bolton please?" _a voice asked from the other end.

"You are speaking to him right now." Troy said and rubbed his eyes. Suddenly, he heard shuffling from the other end of the hotel bed.

"Troy, honey, who is it?" Jamie's head popped out from underneath the covers. Troy almost fell from the bed in surprise. Where the hell did she come from?

_"I'm the delivery person."_ The voice said again, this time diverting Troy's attention away from the girl lying next to him.

"Who?" he asked confused.

_"Uhm…I retrieved the lady's purse few days ago."_

"Oh, the purse snatcher?" Troy asked amused that the person would even contact him.

_"What? I am not the purse snatcher! I am the person who caught the thief!" _the voice protested.

"Oh, the scooter guy?" Troy nodded even though he couldn't care less.

_"Yea! The scooter…uhm…you said you'd give me some reward money…"_ the person trailed off and Troy blinked few times disbelievingly. The nerve of this guy! How dare he make such a scam and then ask for money!

"Listen, why don't we meet right now." Troy suggested and breathed out to keep calm. "Yes, right now, in Four Season's hotel." he said and hung up without waiting for an answer. He knew people like that. He would come for sure.

"Troy!" Jamie suddenly squealed out and straddled him. "So last night was fun." She giggled and tried to lean down to kiss him but Troy pushed her away in annoyance. Her voice was way too much to bear this early in the morning.

"Get off of me." He told her coldly and stood up. "Besides, nothing happened last night so stop pretending."

"What? That is not true!" Jamie gasped. "Why won't you believe me about what happened last night?" she whined out and Troy had to remember how to breath to calm himself down.

"Because, I actually remember what happened. You took me here and then took off my clothes but couldn't bring yourself to do anything more but stare at me and giggle." Troy spoke out slowly and steadily. "I was just pretending to be asleep to see what you would do." Upon hearing this, Jamie's eyes went wide and she stared at him like a deer caught in the headlights. Ruffling her hair with a chuckle, Troy turned to go and take a shower. "Now go and leave me alone." Jamie quickly turned to his retreating figure and whined out.

"But Troy! Honey! You are mine!"

* * *

Gabriella walked up towards the lobby and breathed out heavily. She had to do this, it was her last chance. Besides, she was only taking what was right for her. She had to survive somehow and if this was the way then it was the way!

"Come on Gabriella, you can do this!" She mumbled to herself before she pressed the elevator button.

**

* * *

A/N: this is it for right now! PLEASE review and we promise the next chapter will be in soon! xoxo REVIEW!**


	5. The Fifth Cup

**A/N: Ho ho ho...MERRY XMAS people! So we decided to give u guys a small xmas present...**

**we were kind of very disappointed with the reviews for last chapter...guess you guys don't like it? Maybe you can prove us wrong this time and REVIEW...xmas present for u? lol**

**anyways... MERRY XMAS and ENJOY**

**Disclaimer: we do not own this...**

**

* * *

Fifth Cup**

Walking out of the bathroom, Troy noticed the smell of eggs and bacon in the air. Looking into the living room he noticed Jamie still sitting there eating from the room service cart.

"I thought I told you to leave." He asked her and took a sip of the orange juice.

"I couldn't leave you without making sure you had some breakfast." She said and brought a fork with eggs to his mouth. "Here, open up!" she told him with a smile but Troy dodged the fork and looked at her with annoyance.

"I don't want any and you should really leave now."

"Fine, I will leave after I wash up." Jamie sighed and walked into the bathroom just as the doorbell rang. Opening the door, Troy came face to face with the person who called him earlier in the morning.

"You really came." He mused and walked away, letting the person to come in. Turning around, he looked at the guy up and down. "You are a minor aren't you?" he asked distastefully but the person shook his head. "You are a grownup? Is this the way for grownups to dress?" he asked again with equal distaste about the torn jeans, Converse shoes, simple grey t-shirt and a sleeveless vest. "And by the way," Troy looked closer at the face "are you a girl or a guy?" he sneered. "You look just like a girl…did your voice even crack yet?" he snickered.

"Hey I am a…" Gabriella went to protest but then stopped herself. There was no point of correcting him. It's not like they were going to meet again. "I don't know?" she offered as an explanation instead.

"Here, take a seat." Troy sighed and sat down on one of the sofas.

"No thank you." Gabriella answered quickly and Troy looked up in surprise. "The thing is," she began and took a deep breath. "The thing is, I didn't want to take any money initially but as you can surely remember; my scooter was ruined during the incident." She looked at the man in front of her for some reaction but continued without waiting for it. "So I will be frank here. I got fired because of the incident and I didn't even get my pay."

"So you want me to give you your reward money for that." Troy nodded in understanding, trying to keep his straight face.

"Yes."

"How old was the guy that ran away?" Troy asked quickly.

"Gosh, how should I know? He is a high school dropout!" Gabriella sighed out in annoyance but quickly stopped as she realized her slipup. Troy chuckled at the evident discomfort.

"Listen, I don't plan on calling the cops. So don't be scared and just tell me," he said amused. "I think I have inkling but what exactly is your guys' system? I am just so interested in the criminal underworld." Troy elaborated with slight excitement in his eyes.

"Criminal underworld? What the hell are you trying to say?" Gabriella gasped out in disbelief.

"You better shape up you rascal!" Troy stood up and walked towards Gabriella. "Did you really think you could get away with it?" Walking around her, he looked the Gabriella properly again. "You look so young and innocent but I guess that's the part of your plan."

"Mister, I think there has been a big misunderstanding! I don't know the guy that ran away at all. He and I just…" Gabriella began but Troy cut her off annoyed.

"I saw everything you lowlife! Don't you understand anything I said? I know you ploy you good for nothing scum-bag!" Troy yelled out angrily but Gabriella turned fully facing him with equal anger showing through her eyes.

"At least I am better than you! What kind of a person goes to a hotel with some random chick?" Gabriella yelled out after seeing female clothes scattered everywhere on the floor and the sound of water running in the bathroom.

"Better than me?" Troy screamed out. "I bet you are just jealous!" he snickered.

"Oh my freaking god!" Gabriella moaned out in frustration. This guy was so thick and conceited! "You really think you can treat me like crap don't you! Just because you have money…You have no right to treat people like they are nothing just because they are rich!"

"Don't you dare raise your voice at me like that!" Troy threatened her in a raised voice. "Kneel down right now!"

"Kneel down? Have you gone crazy!" Gabriella screamed at him with wide eyes and took a step back but Troy was faster. He grabbed her hands and tried pulling her down but Gabriella resisted.

"I want you to kneel down and apologize for being rude you rascal!" Troy yelled out while wrestling with her.

"What the hell! Have you gone crazy?" Gabriella shrieked out and tried to push him away but Troy wasn't letting go, resulting both of them to fall onto the floor with Gabriella landing on top of him. Both of them moaned out in pain when the bathroom doors opened.

"Honey! What do you think you are doing?" Jamie gasped out with wide eyes while staring at the two of them on the floor on top of each other. "Troy, are you gay?" she cried out, her eyes filling up with tears while she tried to hold onto the towel that was the only thing covering her body. Troy just stared at her still in pain from the fall not being able to respond. "Why would you do this to me!" she whined out and stomp her feet. Grabbing her clothes from the floor, she turned around and ran straight back into the bathroom. "You are a crazy asshole Troy Bolton!"

"Fucking hell." Troy mumbled out and then looked at Gabriella. "Hey, aren't you getting up?" he hissed at the person on top of him. Gabriella quickly realized what she was doing and stoop up as fast as she could.

"It's your fault. Why would you put your hands on me in the first place." She complained and scratched her head in embarrassment.

"Just leave." Troy sighed out and fixed him bathrobe.

"Can you at least give me some money to fix my scooter?" Gabriella asked him while staring at the floor. She saw his manhood almost twice already and she was not in the mood of seeing it again. "I didn't get my pay because of it and this whole thing happened because of the incident anyway. So if you could maybe just lend me the money…" she trailed off and looked at him straight in the eye.

"Do your parents know you go around begging for money?" Troy asked in a cold voice. "Of course they do," he thought out loud "they are probably worse then you." Gabriella gasped and glared at him.

"Apologize." She told him in a dangerously low tone. "Apologize for talking bad about my parents!" she raised her voice as Jamie walked into the room. "I want an apology do you hear me?" Troy looked at both Jamie and Gabriella. How did he end up with two crazy people in one room?

"I want both of you out of the room right now." He said, ignoring Gabriella who was shooting daggers at him with her eyes.

"I want an apology." She yelled out, not caring about the fact that there was a third person in the room.

"Get out right now!" Troy yelled straight back at her.

"Apologize!"

"Get out of here!"

"Apologize!"

"Get out!"

"Apologize!" Troy grabbed both Gabriella and Jamie and dragged them towards the door in rage.

"Get the fuck out of here!" he screamed out while pushing them one after the other out!

"I am not leaving until you apologize you jerk!" Gabriella protested but Troy slammed the door at her face.

"Troy! Honey! Open the door!" Jamie whined out and started knocking.

"Open the door and apologize!" Gabriella yelled at the same time while hitting the door with her fists. Meanwhile Troy stood by the window with phone at his ear, ignoring the screams and shrieks that were coming out from the other end of the door.

"How many women do I have to meet today mother?"

"_Just six. I tried to cut down the list as much as possible hon." _His mother replied soothingly.

"Six? Are you crazy? That's like a blind date marathon mother!" Troy protested in shock. He expected one or two but six? "Are you out of your mind mom?"

* * *

"Apologize." Gabriella hissed out while pushing her head against his back. Troy was sitting on a sofa and Gabriella was sitting right behind him, their backs facing each other as the sofas touched in a café downtown of LA. "Apologize right now." She kept bugging him. She told him she wasn't going to leave until she got an apology and she intended to keep her word.

"You crazy jerk." Troy mumbled out and sat up straight so Gabriella's head couldn't hit his back anymore. Putting on a fake smile, Troy looked at the woman sitting opposite of him. "So I heard your father's company made $30 million in profit this year." He stated with fake interest. He didn't want to be here but he promised his mother. At least the woman was not as bad looking as he thought she would be.

"Yes." She nodded and took a sip of her iced tea. "But honestly," she suddenly became serious, "I want to try and be poor like normal people. Just live in a small apartment and have a beauty salon somewhere in LA." Troy just nodded with a smile and secretly looked at the watch. Behind him, Gabriella snickered and made sure he heard it.

* * *

"I like this place, it's so chic and the lattes here don't have too much cream in them." His second date said. Troy nodded and looked at her. After the first date, he just hoped she was normal but he couldn't concentrate that much since the annoying jerk was, again, behind him, hissing in his ear about apologizing. "It's kind of hot here don't you think? Do you mind if I take off my jacket?" his date asked and unbuttoned her white jacket.

"Apologize" Gabriella hissed into Troy's ear and looked at his date. Not that bad looking. Suddenly she raised one of her hands to call the waiter and Gabriella thought she was going to puke. In front of her, she noticed Troy choking on his drink. So apparently he noticed the forest under her arms too. Looking at her own armpits, she shook her head. Nope, that was definitely not normal.

* * *

Lying down on the sofa, Gabriella stared at Troy. This was his third date and frankly she was tired. Was this man not tired after going through those two crazy women? Suddenly a waitress came towards Gabriella and smiled at her apologetically.

"Sir, I am sorry but you can't lie on the sofas here." Gabriella quickly stood up and looked at the waitress.

"I am sorry!" she quickly said "I am so sorry." When the waitress walked away, Gabriella turned towards Troy and with a louder voice to make sure he heard she added "You see, when you do something wrong, you have to apologize." She turned back and heard Troy snicker. "You should apologize too." She whispered harshly at him. Troy just kept quiet when he heard his third date's phone ring.

"Hello?" she answered. "Oh yea! I forgot we were going to kill your hamster today!" she giggled and listened intently to what the other person had to say. "I will be on my way right now. Don't kill it without me!" she instructed and hung up. When she noticed Troy's freaked out expression, she changed her demeanor and glared at him. "What?" she shrieked out.

* * *

"I majored in U.S. and French History in MIT" the fourth woman he met today said while Troy could care less and chewed on his straw. "Tu es si chaude et sexy [you are so hot and sexy]" she spoke up while Troy sat there clueless as to what she was talking about. "Voudrais-tu d'avoir du plaisir avec moi? [Would you like to have fun with me?]" she carried on with a smirk. "Je suis si chaud. [I am so hot]"

* * *

Sitting at the window, Troy looked out while silently praying for the fifth woman to be normal.

"Can you touch your chin with your tongue?" she asked him in all seriousness. "I can." She continued and demonstrated her 'talent' to him while Troy didn't know whether to curl up and cry like a little girl and drown his dignity or run away screaming and leave his dignity behind. Suddenly, there was a bang on the window where Troy was sitting and he jumped up in surprise, looking out. There, Gabriella stood with a sign that read 'Apologize you jerk!' and indicated to him that that was what she wanted him to do. Sighing, Troy stood up and without saying anything to the woman in front of him, he left to find a bathroom.

* * *

"4 cups of coffee and 7 cups of juice" Troy mumbled while standing in the bathroom taking care of his business. "It feels like I haven't pissed for a year." He talked to himself. "Are all women like this these days?" he asked himself and sighed. "This is so unbelievable." He zipped his pants and turned to go wash his hands but came face to face with the punk that was following him the whole day.

"Apologize." Gabriella said, completely unfazed that she was in the men's bathroom. Everyone thought she was a guy anyway.

"What the hell!" Troy hissed out. This guy was crazy.

"Apologize for offending my parents and pay me the money to fix my scooter. I also want the money that I didn't get from the job." She said coldly, being sick and tired of this guy.

"You are crazy." Troy chuckled and washed his hands. "You and all the women that I have been with today are fucking crazy." He said and dried his hands.

"You are not such a catch yourself mister." Gabriella measured him up and down. "All the women that you've been with today were so pretty…" she trailed off and then looked at him with realization. "You are really gay aren't you?" she asked. "No wonder the girl in the hotel room called you gay."

"Hey, how dare you call me gay you…" but Troy stopped midsentence when an idea came to his mind. Looking at Gabriella up and down, Gabriella felt uncomfortable under his gaze and self-consciously gazed at the mirror quickly. What was wrong with this guy?

"Turn around for me." Troy instructed and Gabriella, confused as to where he was heading with this.

"Why?" she asked when Troy suddenly smirked and took a step towards her, cornering her against the wall.

"Would you like to be my boyfriend?" he asked with a smirk.

**

* * *

A/N: A small cliffhanger here for you guys...REVIEW...and Merry xmas!xoxo**


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